What will you do if the dogs absolutely, positively can not handle the boat? For what ever reason; scared, bored, sea sickness, nervous shakes or barking? Will you leave them at home? Alone? Are you sure?

I have had my dog on the boat a few times & I might as well had a 3 year old kid. Very high maintenance. I'll even go so far as to say that on more than one occasion the dog being home alone has altered boating plans.

I'm not trying to spoil the party here, just saying that now is the time to ask yourself, & the Admiral, the question(s).

Thanks for all the great advice, humor, and pics of your dogs loving the boating life. I'm a little less inclined to have 2 at the same time, in fact my breeder said 2 from the same litter isn't a good idea, as they tend to get competitive. We're going to make an appointment to go see him sometime this month. The pups will be ready for new homes sometime early April, just in time for spring launch.

Ok, I've got an update on this. I want to thank all who responded to this thread. I got some good ideas, and things to keep in mind; but, most of all you gave me that extra bit of confidence needed to go for it.

So, we picked up "Frank" on Wednesday night, and he'd like to say hello to his fellow Sea Ray canine brethren. He's a West Highland Terrier, and will be about 20 lbs when full grown, probably just about the extra weight I'm looking for to keep the bow of the dinghy down.

The first picture is at 5 weeks, before we even knew Frankie. The second is the night we took him home, at 11 weeks. As you can see in the last pic, he's very comfortable at home, but is counting down the days to his first spring launch.

We boat with folks who have dogs, and we've seen pretty much everything. Key for us is that we tend to raft up in small-ish coves. One has a chocolate Lab that's completely self-sufficient for shore breaks. One has a long-haired chihuahua and another tiny dog that get shore breaks via an inflatable lounger--their mom sits in it and paddles with her hands. One has multiple Yorkies, all of which are trained to pee pads and never take shore breaks. One has a Shepherd that requires motorized trips to the shore. All but the Shepherd learned the lake life young; the Shepherd started as an adult and acclimated pretty quickly.

All of them have life jackets. I echo what everyone else says--even a confident swimmer can end up in the water unexpectedly, and it gives the humans a handle and peace of mind to know their buddies will be safe.

Something to consider: will Frankie need sunscreen or some other type of sun/heat protection, whether for his nose or his body? If he ends up in the water a lot, his fluffy hair may not protect his skin as well as it might if he stays dry. The friend with Yorkies finds it easier to put clothes on them than to work sunscreen through the hair on their bodies (the dogs had been burned once or twice). The Chihuahua is black, so her mom dunks her in the water regularly to keep her cool. (Human sunscreen isn't necessarily pet-safe against licking, so do some homework if you think you'll have to go that route)

I hope he takes to it--all of these folks really enjoy having their own critters on board, and several of them are so well behaved and so well potty trained that they're welcome on neighboring boats, mine included.

We boat with folks who have dogs, and we've seen pretty much everything. Key for us is that we tend to raft up in small-ish coves. One has a chocolate Lab that's completely self-sufficient for shore breaks. One has a long-haired chihuahua and another tiny dog that get shore breaks via an inflatable lounger--their mom sits in it and paddles with her hands. One has multiple Yorkies, all of which are trained to pee pads and never take shore breaks. One has a Shepherd that requires motorized trips to the shore. All but the Shepherd learned the lake life young; the Shepherd started as an adult and acclimated pretty quickly.

All of them have life jackets. I echo what everyone else says--even a confident swimmer can end up in the water unexpectedly, and it gives the humans a handle and peace of mind to know their buddies will be safe.

Something to consider: will Frankie need sunscreen or some other type of sun/heat protection, whether for his nose or his body? If he ends up in the water a lot, his fluffy hair may not protect his skin as well as it might if he stays dry. The friend with Yorkies finds it easier to put clothes on them than to work sunscreen through the hair on their bodies (the dogs had been burned once or twice). The Chihuahua is black, so her mom dunks her in the water regularly to keep her cool. (Human sunscreen isn't necessarily pet-safe against licking, so do some homework if you think you'll have to go that route)

I hope he takes to it--all of these folks really enjoy having their own critters on board, and several of them are so well behaved and so well potty trained that they're welcome on neighboring boats, mine included.

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Your circle of rafting friends has quite the gamut of four-legged friends. One extreme to the next. So, sounds like I'll need to figure out what works best for Frankie. My goal is that he be welcome on neighboring boats, also.

Great advice on sun exposure. I've heard Westies ears are vulnerable. I hadn't thought about pet safe lotion, so if anyone has any recommendations, let me know. I like the idea of clothing, so will look into what would be practical and functional. Like the above strategy, will probably just need to observe and modify at first, but would still like to be as prepared as possible.

Good looking dog! Love the name too.
Congratulations on the addition to the family.

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Thanks. We love the name, also. He came with it. Frank was one of an all-male litter. They were named the Rat Pack, at birth and given names of Dean, Sammy, Joey, Peter, and of course Frank. We could've used our own name, but how could we do that, when the Rat Pack thing is so cool.

We boat with wo dogs: a Boxer and a Bull Mastiff. Both are crate trained, so when below deck, they are in their crates. The Mastiff crate takes up the aft cabin area, but that way, she is not all over the inside of he boat, and when we have guests on board, they don't get overwhelmed by a Big, big dog. The boxer is less intimidating, has her crate when we are below and when we are up on deck, she is up and out with us. We are respectful of folks that dont like dogs, so when that is he case, they are below in their crates.

I totaly agree with what has been said about lifejackets. When a dog is swimming, or when they are in the water panicked, the last place you want to be is near their moving paws - their nails, no matter how trimmed, are sharp. The lifejacket that is comfortable and has the sturdiest handle wins.

We almost always have the A/C on to keep the Mastiff comfortable. For our two, heat is a bigger issue than sun, especially for the brindle Mastiff.

We boat with wo dogs: a Boxer and a Bull Mastiff. Both are crate trained, so when below deck, they are in their crates. The Mastiff crate takes up the aft cabin area, but that way, she is not all over the inside of he boat, and when we have guests on board, they don't get overwhelmed by a Big, big dog. The boxer is less intimidating, has her crate when we are below and when we are up on deck, she is up and out with us. We are respectful of folks that dont like dogs, so when that is he case, they are below in their crates.

I totaly agree with what has been said about lifejackets. When a dog is swimming, or when they are in the water panicked, the last place you want to be is near their moving paws - their nails, no matter how trimmed, are sharp. The lifejacket that is comfortable and has the sturdiest handle wins.

We almost always have the A/C on to keep the Mastiff comfortable. For our two, heat is a bigger issue than sun, especially for the brindle Mastiff.

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Great tips, thanks. I especially take note on the sturdiness of the life jacket handle. The life of the pup may, but hopefully not, depend on the handle. Based on your boats' LOA, you have a hefty dog:boat ratio!!! So, I was curious where your dogs are when docking, rough weather, fog etc. Do you have any firm rules on your 370?

We have a rescue Rhodesian Ridgeback and started him at the end of the last season. He wasn't sure about the whole thing but we did put life jacket on him. We weren't sure if it would fit because our late 112 pound Ridgeback was alot bigger them him but I did manage to make it small enough for him. Hopefully this season will be better.

Great tips, thanks. I especially take note on the sturdiness of the life jacket handle. The life of the pup may, but hopefully not, depend on the handle. Based on your boats' LOA, you have a hefty dog:boat ratio!!! So, I was curious where your dogs are when docking, rough weather, fog etc. Do you have any firm rules on your 370?

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When it is rough/docking/fog, the Mastiff is below in he crate and the Boxer is at her station - sitting next to me at the helm seat w/ life jacket on and she does not move from her position- usually sitting and watching out. That frees he Admiral to handle lines when docking and when running, she sits on the other side of the Boxer. If the Boxer starts to move around because of people, etc, she is put below in here crate as well. Both dogs are very comfortable in their crates and do not see it as punishment at all - the Mastiff likes being in her crate as it is where she feels safe (she is a rescue).

And if you haven't considered this already, be assertive on Frankie's behalf, too. Be very, very clear to the humans around you what his rules are. If you don't want him on other people's boats for his first season or forever, say so. If you don't want anyone to feed him anything ever, say so. It should apply on land and on water, but it's astounding to me how many people will pick up a dog, coax a dog to get in the water or go someplace other than where his people are, or feed anything and everything including alcohol "because it's funny," all without asking the humans (heck, people do the same thing with kids!). Some pet parents are particular because their dogs' systems are sensitive, but it's absolutely your right to say he can't have hamburgers just because you say so, even if you might give him one yourself once in a while.

If you don't care, that's fine, too. But if you do, set the tone early, firmly, and often and don't feel weird or guilty about it. You may find that your closest dog-friendly boating buddies will get to know his rules, support your efforts, and educate others, too, on those occasions when strangers join the party and might think nothing of corrupting a new dog friend!